


Broken Heroes

by leigh57



Category: 24
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-16
Updated: 2012-01-16
Packaged: 2017-10-29 15:55:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/321604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leigh57/pseuds/leigh57
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>H/C ficlet in one of my 800 AUs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken Heroes

“Can you lift your shoulder a little? I need to see if the bleeding is slowing down.” Renee looked toward the window. She’d drawn the cheap polyester curtains as soon as she’d locked and chained the hotel room door behind her and eased Jack’s trembling, sweaty body down on the slippery bedspread. Headlights from the highway lit the window at frequent but unpredictable intervals, and she could hear the wail of a siren, but the sound was becoming fainter so she didn’t add that to her list of reasons to panic.

She had enough of those already.

Eyes closed, Jack obediently leaned sideways, and Renee peeled back the fresh bandage she’d slapped over his shoulder when she pulled off the road half an hour ago. There was blood, but much less than last time. “It’s better. I’ll change the dressing again as soon as I check the room.”

“We can’t stay here.” Jack’s voice was a rough whisper. “We need to keep moving.”

Renee lifted her gun from the bedside table and walked to the door, listening. The hallway outside was silent, which wasn’t surprising at 2:30 a.m. “We’re not going anywhere until you can keep down half a fucking Vitamin Water, Jack. You almost passed out in the elevator.” He’d vomited three times in the last hour, and although she had no way of taking his temperature, she could tell by touching him that it was rising fast. While she was doing everything possible to keep her expression and her demeanor neutral, Renee knew she wasn’t fooling him.

She was terrified.

“Then you should keep going.” This time his voice was firm.

“And you’re delirious if you think I’m leaving you here like this.” She wiped a clammy hand on her blood-stained jeans.

“They’ll find us within half an hour.” His words vibrated a little with the tremors in his body.

“You’re so feverish you’re shivering. We’ll have to risk it. If we’re lucky, they don’t know we switched cars,” she replied, walking into the bathroom to grab a washcloth. She turned the hot tap on full force and looked down quickly after she made the mistake of glancing in the mirror. Her shirt and jeans were covered with blood – mostly Jack’s, but some of her own mixed in. Blood had congealed around a cut on her wrist, and her right cheek was bruised and swollen where that asshole from Division had punched her. The navy trench coat she’d grabbed before they ditched her car had covered the blood on her clothes while she checked in, but the desk clerk had still gotten a strange expression and asked if she was all right. Renee had tried to seem nonchalant, muttering something about the hazards of being responsible for mental patients. She was grateful that Jack had been able to hide in the car; explaining away _his_ appearance would have been a lot harder.

She wrung excess water from the steaming washcloth and (rearranging her face back into neutrality) walked back out to Jack. The mold, grease, and stale tobacco scent of the room was making her nauseous; it had to be ten times as bad for him. “Can you lay on your side or does that make you feel worse?” she asked, rummaging in the bag for the plastic bottle of alcohol.

“It’s fine,” Jack answered, rolling toward her onto his good shoulder. His face was grey and covered with sweat.

Renee gently peeled away the adhesive tape where she had sloppily affixed the blood-stained gauze. She poured alcohol over the wound for the second time in as many hours. Jack didn’t flinch; but the fingers on his right hand clenched the fabric of the ugly orange and brown bedspread. Patting his shoulder dry with a hotel towel (vivid contrast of red on white), Renee ripped more adhesive with her teeth and recovered the wound. When she was done, she found a clean portion of the towel and smoothed it over his forehead. “Your shoulder looks fine.” She cleared her throat, hating the panicked tone she knew he could hear. “I can’t figure out why your fever won’t break.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m pissed off.” Jack turned her wrist toward him, surveying her cut. “Did that sonofabitch do this to you, too?” He reached up to touch her cheek, rubbing his thumb softly an inch or so below the throbbing bruise.

“No. I caught the wall in the parking garage.” She closed her hand over his, willing herself not to lose it now. “You should try to drink a little more.” She uncapped the Vitamin Water and handed it to him.

After a few swallows, he passed it back to her. “You bought the blueberry crap again. No wonder I can’t keep anything down.”

“Jack-”

“We’ve got to figure out how to contact Chloe. She can end this shit right now if we can find a way to transmit those files.”

“I’ll _call_ her,” she replied. “Right now I’m more concerned with getting you to the point where you can stand up without help.”

He fell silent. Renee heard another siren, its scream rising in their direction this time. She tensed, looking toward the window. After a few seconds, swirling globes of red and blue light flickered past the ragged taupe curtains and the sound of the siren faded away. She checked once more to be sure her gun was within reach and waited.

_________________________

“Can I have some more water?” Jack shifted, and the bedspread made a funny crinkling noise.

“You don’t think it’s too soon?”

“No. If anything it’s getting better. I don’t think the fever’s worse either.”

She handed him the bottle of maroon liquid and leaned over to put her unbruised cheek against his forehead. She exhaled, relief heating her from the inside. “You’re right,” she whispered, kissing his cheek. “But you still need to rest.”

“We need to call Chloe.”

“And if you’re still okay in the morning, I’ll go to the strip mall next door, buy one of those Trac phones, and call her.”

“We can’t wait-”

“Yes. We can,” Renee interrupted. “This isn’t up for discussion. When I’m the one who can’t walk without throwing up, you get to decide. But not this time.”

Jack smiled. “You’re so fucking stubborn.”

“Wonder where I learned that,” she retorted.

“Right. Before I showed up you did what you were told.”

“I did!” she exclaimed. “When I felt like it,” she added, grinning slightly. “Can you scoot over a little? I want to be closest to the door.”

Jack slid sideways a couple feet. Renee picked up her Glock and lay down on the bed facing him. He stroked her cheek. “When we get back, I’m gonna hurt him.”

“Not if I hurt him first.” Her voice was cold. “He shot you.”

“With aim like that I’d hate to be his partner in the field,” Jack muttered.

Renee shook her head. “He’s the least of our problems. Forget it.”

Jack didn’t reply. He was sort of blinking, but each time he closed his eyes, they stayed shut longer. His face wasn’t quite so grey now. She laced her fingers with his. “Go to sleep.”

“We can’t both be asleep,” he mumbled.

“God, Jack!” She sighed. “You think I’m going to sleep?”

“I’m sorry.” His words were starting to blend.

She rubbed the pad of her thumb over his palm. “It’s fine.”

He forced his eyes fully open again and looked at her, serious. “No, it’s not. I’m sorry. I’m used to-” He paused. “Running by myself.”

“Well I’m not going anywhere, so you’ve got until morning to adjust.”

“Okay.” His eyes drifted shut again. Renee looked toward the window, watching the lights stream by on the highway, her body on high alert for changes in color or motion. “Hey,” Jack said.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I didn’t do it just for you.”

“I know,” he whispered, and she felt his fingers relax in hers as he submitted to exhaustion.

She lay silent, listening to the way the bedspread swished if she moved her leg or Jack startled in his sleep. With her Glock secure against her stomach, she stared at the window and waited for the sliver of black between the tattered curtains to lighten.


End file.
